Chapter 5 - THE UNCLE WHO NEVER DIED
The room became silent.
Dad looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Ryan stared at him.
“Uncle Daniel?”
Dad shook his head.
“He died before you were born.”
“No,” Commander Hayes said.
“We never found a body.”
Dad's breathing became shallow.
I felt something inside me shift.
For years, my family had told stories about Uncle Daniel.
He had been brilliant.
Reckless.
Difficult.
Then he disappeared.
The family said he was killed in a boating accident.
We never discussed him again.
Now his account had accessed Ryan's military file.
“He's alive,” I whispered.
Hayes nodded.
“Most likely.”
“And he's after me?”
“We don't know.”
I looked at the memory card again.
My mother's face.
Her warning.
The truth was no longer about my career.
It was about my family.
Ryan stepped toward me.
“I need to tell you something.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“The night before my selection ceremony, Dad told me never to trust you.”
I stared.
“He said you were unstable.”
My chest tightened.
“Did you believe him?”
Ryan looked ashamed.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I saw the scars.”
I nodded slowly.
“You thought I was broken.”
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“I was wrong.”
The apology was small.
But genuine.
Before I could answer, Admiral Brooks interrupted.
“We have a second development.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
A recent security image.
A man entering a warehouse.
Older.
Gray hair.
But unmistakable.
Daniel Mercer.
Dad sat down.
“He's alive.”
Hayes nodded.
“He was in San Diego yesterday.”
“Why?”
“Because someone hired him.”
“Who?”
Hayes pointed to the photograph.
A woman standing beside Daniel.
I didn't recognize her.
Ryan did.
“Madison.”
My cousin.
The room went silent.
“No.”
Ryan shook his head.
“She wouldn't.”
“She was at the ceremony,” I whispered.
Hayes nodded.
“She had access to the guest list.”
I felt sick.
“She told security I wasn't important.”
“And now we know why,” Brooks said.
“What does she want?”
“We don't know.”
Ryan turned pale.
“She has my family.”
Dad looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Ryan pulled out his phone.
“There are messages.”
He showed us.
Madison had sent him a picture of the family reception area.
Under it:
Keep Emily away from the podium.
Ryan stared at the screen.
“I thought she was joking.”
I looked at him.
“You should have shown someone.”
“I know.”
The guilt in his face was immediate.
Commander Hayes took the phone.
“We need the rest.”
Ryan scrolled.
Another message.
She doesn't know about the watch.
Then another.
Once the commander brings her forward, the old file becomes active.
I stared at the words.
“What old file?”
Hayes looked at me.
“The file your mother warned us about.”
The one tied to my father's company.
The missing records.
Daniel.
The crash.
My first deployment.
Everything was connected.
But why?
Admiral Brooks pointed at the watch.
“Open it again.”
I did.
Another compartment had appeared.
Inside was a tiny photograph.
My mother.
Daniel.
And me as a child.
On the back:
He was supposed to protect her.
I looked at Dad.
“Who is he protecting me from?”
Dad finally broke.
“Your uncle.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel believed your mother stole something from him.”
“What?”
Dad swallowed.
“The original contract.”
I frowned.
“What contract?”
“The one that connected Carter Industries to a government procurement program.”
Hayes looked at him.
“That program doesn't exist anymore.”
“It does.”
Dad pointed at me.
“Emily was the last person to see the records.”
I shook my head.
“I was sixteen.”
“You didn't know what you had.”
“Then what was it?”
Dad's eyes filled with tears.
“A list of payments.”
“To whom?”
“People who were never supposed to receive them.”
Silence.
Then Ryan spoke.
“And someone is still being paid.”
Admiral Brooks looked at him.
“How do you know?”
Ryan showed us one final message.
Tomorrow. Carter ceremony. Emily will be brought forward. We take the watch.
I looked at my wrist.
Then at Commander Hayes.
“They wanted the watch.”
He nodded.
“And they still do.”
Suddenly every piece of humiliation became clear.
The seating.
The guest list.
The pressure to keep me away.
Someone had wanted me isolated.
But they hadn't expected the commander to recognize me.
They hadn't expected me to be invited.
They hadn't expected the watch to still be with me.
Then Dad whispered the truth that changed everything.
“Emily.”
I looked at him.
“Your mother didn't hide the contract.”
“She hid something else.”
“What?”
May you like
“The name of the person who ordered the payments.”
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